The 24th & 25th Infantry Divisions were among
the first to see combat in World War II and among the last to stop fighting.
The Divisions were on Oahu, with Headquarters at Schofield Barracks, when the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, and suffered minor casualties.
Charged with the defense of Oahu and the Hawaiian Islands, they built an elaborate
system of coastal defenses before deploying for further combat operations

December 7, 1941, Sam said “All we could do was stand there
and watch as the Japanese planes flew through Kola-Kola pass and attacked Scholfield
Barracks, Wheeler Field and Pearl Harbor.”

Sam Clower was in charge of a detail armed with .45-caliber
pistols and shotguns assigned to guard the nearby water supply and other facilities
against possible sabotage. They were positioned up the mountain where they had
a commanding view of the whole area below. The ,45-caliber pistols and shotguns
were adequate for that mission but no match for the enemy airplanes that flew
near their position during the attack that launched the United States into World
War II.

The next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt described December
7th,1941, as “A date that will live in infamy,” and Congress declared
war on Japan.

Sam Cower had been scheduled to be shipped back to the mainland
December 14th, but didn't make it for several more years. He was
sent to Australia and then New Guinea and ultimately to the Philippines. Elements
of his unit became isolated on a small island along with elements of the Japanese
forces with a commander educated in the United states. Neither side had communications
with their command units. They made peace with each other and shared food etc.
and Sam was listed as missing in action by the US Army for 5 months & 5
days

Physical problems from injuries received during this period
sent him back to the states for hospital treatment and forced him out of the
infantry, so he transferred to the Army Air Corps And in the US Air Force until
his retirement from the service in 1974.